A STUDY OF RATIONS FED TO MILCH COWS. lOI 



coarse fodder was fed and the animals rejected quite a little of 

 it. The grain feed was not an expensive one, as most of the 

 corn was grown on the farm; yet a grain mixture with a little 

 larger proportion of protein seemed to give better results. A 

 considerable saving in the cost of producing milk and butter 

 was made in this experiment when from 2.20 to 2.45 pounds 

 of protein were fed, as compared with 2.19 pounds in the first 

 test. 



Herd W. Tests Nos. 6^ and 66. — This was a large herd of 

 about fifty cows, from which thirty were selected as suitable 

 for the experiment. The cows were mainly grade Swiss and a 

 few were grade Jerseys and natives. Most of them were me- 

 dium sized, the average estimated weight being goo pounds. 

 All but one had calved within five months previous to the first 

 test, and, as far as known, none were due to calve within five 

 months of the close of the second test. The herd was kept in 

 a high, well ventilated stable, and was allowed to exercise in a 

 yard in pleasant weather. 



The coarse fodder in the daily ration of the first test con- 

 sisted of about 22 pounds of corn and soy bean silage and 11. 3 

 pounds of a fair quality of hay. The grain ration was com- 

 posed of about 8 pounds of a mixture of three parts, by 

 weight, of flour middlings, one part of hominy chop and one 

 and one-half parts of cotton seed meal. It was supposed that 

 this ration would furnish about 2 pounds of digestible protein 

 daily, but after samples were analyzed it was calculated to con- 

 tain about 2.4 pounds of digestible protein daily. The large 

 amount of protein in the ration was due, to a considerable 

 degree, to the high percentage of protein contained in the corn 

 and soy bean silage. 



In the second test it was thought best to test the value of a 

 larger amount of protein than 2.4 pounds, and to increase the 

 protein according to the yields of butter fat, on the same plan 

 as in the last experiment (Herd V). The hay used in the 

 second test was reduced to an average of 10 pounds per day. 

 The basal grain mixture consisted of four parts, by weight, of 

 wheat bran, two parts of cotton seed meal and one part each 

 of hominy chop and Chicago gluten meal. No second grain or 

 protein mixture was used in this test, but the mixture named 

 was fed to different groups at the rate of 7.5, 8.5 and 9.5 



